From the Quad
10/29/2021 2:23:00 PM | General
Presented by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Good afternoon Demon Deacon Nation,
Homecoming Weekend is here and there is an amazing energy and vibe around our beautiful Reynolda campus! Earlier today our men's cross country program finished third at the ACC Championships, and we have multiple teams in action on campus with senior days for field hockey at 4 p.m. and men's soccer at 7 p.m. tonight! Meanwhile, the venerable Commodores are warming up to take the stage on Manchester Plaza for Party so Dear at 4:30 p.m. and of course the 7-0 Demon Deacons have a Big Four battle with Duke at 4 p.m. tomorrow at Truist Field.
The fun of Homecoming is magnified this year as our Alumni Affairs office is making up for last year with double the usual number of class reunion celebrations. I hear from alumni of all generations about the excitement and pride they feel returning to campus and seeing the ongoing growth and renewal of our University infrastructure. From the comprehensive Luter Residence Hall renovation that is scheduled to be completed in December, to the recently announced campus space utilization study, Wake Forest continues to march forward with strategic investments to better serve our students as they learn the spirit of Pro Humanitate.
These actions follow previous projects from the past decade such as North Campus, WFU Business School's Farrell Hall, Innovation Quarter, and Wake Downtown as well as the upcoming Atrium Wake Forest Baptist campus expansions.
With that, I am honored to share the transformational news of a new $20 million gift from Bob McCreary and the unveiling of the next step in the development of our Athletics and football facility infrastructure.
In 1957, just a year after Wake Forest successfully moved approximately 120 miles west to its new Winston-Salem home, a football scholarship brought young Bob McCreary east from his rural house in Caldwell County to our beautiful Reynolda campus and the Demon Deacon family.
Those humble beginnings began a business and entrepreneurship career that has positively impacted countless lives. From a startup furniture idea in a rickety old fiber mill in Newton, N.C., Bob's vision has blossomed into six large production facilities in Catawba and Caldwell counties now employing over 1,000 North Carolinians. Bob and his family still work long hours every day growing McCreary Modern to better serve its employees, customers and community.
Over the last 10 years, thousands of Deacon Club members have followed Bob's lead and contributed gifts of all sizes to completely change the trajectory and sustainability of Wake Forest Athletics. As Coach Dave Clawson continues to lead the Demon Deacon football program to greater heights, the participation of every Wake Forest fan is essential to ensure we can maximize our advantages and cement ourselves amongst the top programs in the ACC and nationally for years to come.
Bob's latest challenge has already inspired gifts of all amounts totaling $10 million towards the goal of $38 million to fully fund the new McCreary Football Complex. Click here for renderings of the planned project which includes a long desired new locker room for our 130 football student-athletes, a player lounge with a nutrition station, recovery area, sports medicine treatment and therapy room and an equipment operations center.
Team camaraderie, chemistry and lifelong relationships will grow in the new McCreary Football Complex, which will replace the Mark C. Pruitt Football Center's Peahead Walker Football Locker Room originally constructed in 1988. In recent years Wake Forest Athletics has invested in new locker rooms for field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's track and field/cross country and baseball.
The second floor of the McCreary Football Complex will include multipurpose space with seating capacity of 200 to be used for Wake Forest Athletics functions, team meetings, meals, career and personal development, recruiting and other activities. The project will be comprehensively funded to include all design, construction, maintenance and operational support without the University incurring any long-term debt, and will complete the Athletics quadrant on Wake Forest's Reynolda campus.
Bob said it best as to the purpose of this facility, "This is about creating a home for the football players. For these young men to be together and to share thoughts and ideas after a practice or a game is important. That is how you build relationships."
Current Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year Watch List honoree Dave Clawson knows full well the impact of Bob's leadership generosity:
"Throughout my eight years at Wake Forest, Bob McCreary's transformational leadership and generosity has helped build the foundation for our program to compete at the highest level. From McCreary Football Field House, Sutton Sports Performance Center and the Christian McCreary Nutrition Zone, the commitment to provide the best facilities and staff positions to help our student-athletes on and off the field have allowed us the ability to recruit young men that make our University community proud. Overall, Bob's generous support of our football program has been unparalleled."
Please click here for our press announcement which includes comments from President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D. and 2021 team captain Miles Fox.
Bob, who has invested nearly $55 million in Wake Forest and is the largest donor in Demon Deacon Athletics history, has been the lead donor for several recent major athletics projects, including the McCreary Football Field House, our indoor practice facility completed in 2016, and the Bob McCreary Video Board Honoring the Class of 1961 at Truist Field. Bob has also provided significant support for student-athlete scholarships and the Sutton Sports Performance Center. You may recall that Truist Field's signature McCreary Tower was named in his honor at the Homecoming football game in 2016.
I know you will join me in saluting Bob at tomorrow's football game!
After tonight's soccer match, be on the lookout for our traditional Friday-night-before-a-home game fireworks above Wait Chapel before the evening concludes for Wake Forest students at the men's and women's basketball Deacon Jam! at 9:30 p.m. inside Varsity Arena in Reynolds Gymnasium.
Prior to Saturday's football game against Duke the women's basketball team will host a free intrasquad scrimmage from 1-2 p.m. inside Joel Coliseum. Join me for your first look at Coach Hoover's exciting 2021-22 squad before you head over to the DEACTOWN Fan Zone presented by Forsyth County Farm Bureau Insurance. Finally, good luck to women's soccer in their first round ACC Tournament match on Sunday at Duke at 8 p.m.
As always, continue to send me your thoughts, questions and suggestions to wfuad@wfu.edu.
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
Good afternoon Demon Deacon Nation,
Homecoming Weekend is here and there is an amazing energy and vibe around our beautiful Reynolda campus! Earlier today our men's cross country program finished third at the ACC Championships, and we have multiple teams in action on campus with senior days for field hockey at 4 p.m. and men's soccer at 7 p.m. tonight! Meanwhile, the venerable Commodores are warming up to take the stage on Manchester Plaza for Party so Dear at 4:30 p.m. and of course the 7-0 Demon Deacons have a Big Four battle with Duke at 4 p.m. tomorrow at Truist Field.
The fun of Homecoming is magnified this year as our Alumni Affairs office is making up for last year with double the usual number of class reunion celebrations. I hear from alumni of all generations about the excitement and pride they feel returning to campus and seeing the ongoing growth and renewal of our University infrastructure. From the comprehensive Luter Residence Hall renovation that is scheduled to be completed in December, to the recently announced campus space utilization study, Wake Forest continues to march forward with strategic investments to better serve our students as they learn the spirit of Pro Humanitate.
These actions follow previous projects from the past decade such as North Campus, WFU Business School's Farrell Hall, Innovation Quarter, and Wake Downtown as well as the upcoming Atrium Wake Forest Baptist campus expansions.
With that, I am honored to share the transformational news of a new $20 million gift from Bob McCreary and the unveiling of the next step in the development of our Athletics and football facility infrastructure.
In 1957, just a year after Wake Forest successfully moved approximately 120 miles west to its new Winston-Salem home, a football scholarship brought young Bob McCreary east from his rural house in Caldwell County to our beautiful Reynolda campus and the Demon Deacon family.
Those humble beginnings began a business and entrepreneurship career that has positively impacted countless lives. From a startup furniture idea in a rickety old fiber mill in Newton, N.C., Bob's vision has blossomed into six large production facilities in Catawba and Caldwell counties now employing over 1,000 North Carolinians. Bob and his family still work long hours every day growing McCreary Modern to better serve its employees, customers and community.
Over the last 10 years, thousands of Deacon Club members have followed Bob's lead and contributed gifts of all sizes to completely change the trajectory and sustainability of Wake Forest Athletics. As Coach Dave Clawson continues to lead the Demon Deacon football program to greater heights, the participation of every Wake Forest fan is essential to ensure we can maximize our advantages and cement ourselves amongst the top programs in the ACC and nationally for years to come.
Bob's latest challenge has already inspired gifts of all amounts totaling $10 million towards the goal of $38 million to fully fund the new McCreary Football Complex. Click here for renderings of the planned project which includes a long desired new locker room for our 130 football student-athletes, a player lounge with a nutrition station, recovery area, sports medicine treatment and therapy room and an equipment operations center.
Team camaraderie, chemistry and lifelong relationships will grow in the new McCreary Football Complex, which will replace the Mark C. Pruitt Football Center's Peahead Walker Football Locker Room originally constructed in 1988. In recent years Wake Forest Athletics has invested in new locker rooms for field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's track and field/cross country and baseball.
The second floor of the McCreary Football Complex will include multipurpose space with seating capacity of 200 to be used for Wake Forest Athletics functions, team meetings, meals, career and personal development, recruiting and other activities. The project will be comprehensively funded to include all design, construction, maintenance and operational support without the University incurring any long-term debt, and will complete the Athletics quadrant on Wake Forest's Reynolda campus.
Bob said it best as to the purpose of this facility, "This is about creating a home for the football players. For these young men to be together and to share thoughts and ideas after a practice or a game is important. That is how you build relationships."
Current Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year Watch List honoree Dave Clawson knows full well the impact of Bob's leadership generosity:
"Throughout my eight years at Wake Forest, Bob McCreary's transformational leadership and generosity has helped build the foundation for our program to compete at the highest level. From McCreary Football Field House, Sutton Sports Performance Center and the Christian McCreary Nutrition Zone, the commitment to provide the best facilities and staff positions to help our student-athletes on and off the field have allowed us the ability to recruit young men that make our University community proud. Overall, Bob's generous support of our football program has been unparalleled."
Please click here for our press announcement which includes comments from President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D. and 2021 team captain Miles Fox.
Bob, who has invested nearly $55 million in Wake Forest and is the largest donor in Demon Deacon Athletics history, has been the lead donor for several recent major athletics projects, including the McCreary Football Field House, our indoor practice facility completed in 2016, and the Bob McCreary Video Board Honoring the Class of 1961 at Truist Field. Bob has also provided significant support for student-athlete scholarships and the Sutton Sports Performance Center. You may recall that Truist Field's signature McCreary Tower was named in his honor at the Homecoming football game in 2016.
I know you will join me in saluting Bob at tomorrow's football game!
After tonight's soccer match, be on the lookout for our traditional Friday-night-before-a-home game fireworks above Wait Chapel before the evening concludes for Wake Forest students at the men's and women's basketball Deacon Jam! at 9:30 p.m. inside Varsity Arena in Reynolds Gymnasium.
Prior to Saturday's football game against Duke the women's basketball team will host a free intrasquad scrimmage from 1-2 p.m. inside Joel Coliseum. Join me for your first look at Coach Hoover's exciting 2021-22 squad before you head over to the DEACTOWN Fan Zone presented by Forsyth County Farm Bureau Insurance. Finally, good luck to women's soccer in their first round ACC Tournament match on Sunday at Duke at 8 p.m.
As always, continue to send me your thoughts, questions and suggestions to wfuad@wfu.edu.
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
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Wednesday, September 10
Matt Barrie SportsCenter on Wake Forest Campus (Arnold Palmer Complex)
Wednesday, September 10
Football Media Availability (9/9/25)
Wednesday, September 10